I got a request this year to lighten Starbuck's Cranberry Bliss Bars – this make-over turned out excellent! I was able to cut the fat and calories by more than HALF, yet they still taste indulgent. The original bar is 340 calories with 19 grams of fat; this lighter version is just 149 calories with 5 grams of fat (4 points plus).

Last year I attempted to make these light but didn't have much success. I had used whole wheat flour and I believe that was my demise – it gave the bars an unpleasant texture and scent that I really didn't enjoy.

This time I used Gold Metal all purpose flour and the results were excellent. This is dessert after all, and although I try to use whole grains in all my meals, it doesn't always work when baking. If you need a dessert for a holiday party, these are great. Leave them refrigerated until ready to serve.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir to blend.

In another bowl, whisk the sugars with the butter, egg whites, applesauce and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions
until the batter is very well blended. If the batter looks more
“crumbly” than smooth, add just a drop of water at a time (ONLY if
needed) until it smooths out.

Fold in white chocolate chips and 1/3 cup cranberries. Spread batter onto the baking pan using the back of a measuring cup to smooth evenly.

Bake 10 - 14 minutes, until the edges are light brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't over-bake or your bars will be dry. Let it cool completely on wire rack.
Meanwhile, prepare the frosting; in a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until well-blended. Frost bars and sprinkle with remaining cranberries. Drizzle with the melted white chocolate.

*To melt the chocolate, place in a microwave safe cup and heat 15 seconds; stir. Another 15 seconds; stir until the chocolate is melted.

When the chocolate sets, cut into 15 large squares (5 cuts by 3 cuts with the knife). Then cut each square in half diagonally to create triangles. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

These look fantastic but since it's just me and the hubby I know I'll be tempted to overindulge. How long will they keep in the fridge? Do you think they would be ok to freeze? Thanks for all the fabulous recipes. I've made at least two (sometimes as many as five) of your recipes since I found out about skinnytaste.com! I have finally been able to realize my goal of not only losing weight but truly adapting a healthy do-able eating style. Thanks Gina!

Mary, I think you can just google the nutrition information in pistachios and measure out and do the calculations of how much you are using in the recipe. Then add that on to the recipe totals Gina has listed above. If you are counting WW points use your WW calculator on your etools to figure out the new points plus values.

I added a little orange zest to the icing. It worked perfectly! Thanks for this recipe Gina, I've been searching for a good one for literally YEARS! This was the best low fat copy I've EVER found. THANK YOU!!!

Starbucks Bliss Bars have crystallized ginger in them. A big flavor component. I'm not sure how many points it would add. When I make them I put in 2 tablespoons finely minced. Thanks for lightening them up!

What's your opinion on subbing some, if not all, of the sugar and brown sugar in the cake for Spenda products? I'd have to run it through Recipe Builder to see what the PP value would be. I'm not much of a baker, so I don't know if Splenda works well or not in recipes like this. But I'd love to make these Bliss Bars! Thanks for all you do!!

I haven't tried the commercially-made Greek yogurt cream cheese here in America, but I've lived in Africa the past two years, and the only way I could make cream cheese was by straining regular yogurt through cheesecloth for 4-8 hours (I got the idea from the Cleaner Plate Club blog). It's a tiny bit more tart than American cream cheese, but I used it for cream cheese icing all the time while overseas. I guess you just get used to the flavor, even if it is a tiny bit different than full-fat American cream cheese icing. Good luck!

those who have made - do you really NEED the frosting? I'm thinking pressing chopped cranberries & macadamias into the top before baking then finishing with a drizzle of white choc... ...but wondered maybe you need the frosting for the moisture content?

I don't think you NEED the frosting. The cookie bars themselves are very good. I like the tang of the cream cheese frosting to counter the sweetness of the white chocolate. If you skip the frosting, I'd be very careful not to overcook so the bars don't dry out.

Gina! I tell everyone I know, about your website! I made these last night. They taste awesome, if not better than the originals. I plan to share with my co-workers and freeze a few as well. I am not a baker, but your instructions were very easy to follow. I'm also taking the week long challenge! You are awesome!

I have made the full fat version from another site and LOVED them. I reluctantly decided to try these for a party last night because the hostess is really watching her calories. These turned out great. They are slightly less "decadent" and the cinnamon in the dough makes them taste slightly different. These are a great desert though.

Those bars look great - Christmas is my favorite and these are so pretty and festive looking! Have you tried adding dark chocolate to the dough? I'm an absolute chocoholic and that's the only thing that I think could make these better!

Yeah, I baked mine for 18 minutes. I was so concerned about the "Do not overbake" that I took them out. they were a little mushy. I think it really needed another couple of minutes. Not sure why, followed the recipe exactly. The batter never was stiff enough to pat down though. Should have been my clue! Will try again some time with an eye on the batter before baking.

I made this over the weekend and it did take longer than 10-14 minutes for it to cook, I would say a bit closer to 18-20 minutes. BUT, I am not rating this badly because it was AMAZING!! WOW!! So tasty, I felt I was being decadent without all the calories (which made having two pieces ok lol ) I also gave some to co-workers and they really enjoyed them as well. I would certainly make them again, recommend them. Next, I might even not do the cream cheese icing and just sprinkle the white chocolate!

These were absolutely the best. Didn't change anything except it did take longer than the 14 minutes until they were baked in the middle. They were a bit "expensive" in terms of weight watcher points, but worth every bite.

Gina, I have been reading and using recipes from your blog for over two years--and while I absolutely love practically everything you make, I was so compelled to comment this time because these are absolutely spectacular!!

Thank you so much for your commitment to offering healthier alternatives to all of our lives--I can't count the number of times I've thought, "what am I going to make for dinner tonight?" and automatically coming here to find my answer! And while I get all of the praise, you deserve all of the credit. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

Made these for a cookie exchange and they were a HUGE hit! I also added some orange extract because I love the cranberry orange combination. I am going to try to lesson the sugar and ditch the frosting for a breakfast bar! Maybe add nuts too, yumm!!

I didn't change one thing and these were as good as or dare I say even BETTER than Starbucks ones. They are just excellent and have been enjoyed by all my family! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!

I love to bake. It's my creative outlet, but I don't eat anything with processed sugar. I made these and also found they needed more than 14 minutes-just checked them every 2 minutes until done. I love the suggestion of crystallized ginger and will add them next time. Sent half with my wife to her work and took half with me. There wasn't a crumb that made it home. And when my wife's coworkers found out they were "skinny" they begged my wife to pry the recipe from me. A HUGE hit. I did try to take them out of the pan too early and they did break somy, but I was able to "glue" it back together with the frosting. A definite keeper.

Last Monday they gave out free samples of this at Starbucks in my building. I made this recipe today. I baked them about 20 minutes. They weren't done at 14 minutes. I liked these so much better than the Starbucks version. AWESOME!

I made these for our family Christmas cookie exchange this year and they were AMAZING. I personally loved them, and they also received rave reviews from my aunts and cousins. These are going in the permanent stash! Thanks for creating these!

I loved these bliss bars! I am not always the best baker, and these were so easy to make! Even won most unique at our cookie exchange at work. They were a bit hard to cut though, with the chocolate chips, glaze, and cranberries, so be careful cutting! Other than that I followed the recipe to a T.

I printed the copycat Starbucks recipe for these a couple months ago but haven't tried it yet cuz most in my family don't care for cranberries (silly them). Then I ran across this "skinny-fied" version and decided "it's time." Especially since they look so Christmas-y. I baked them last night and brought them in to work today. OMG- they are Sooooo good. A big hit.

My question is- how does anyone get their chocolate to melt so it's thin enough to drizzle? I used some good Ghiradhelli white chocolate but it still ended up in little drops instead of a drizzle.

Honestly, the baking chocolate the recipe calls for didn't melt very well at all for me either. So what I did instead was melt white chocolate chips and I had no problem getting it to become liquid. Plus I scooped it into a plastic sandwich bag and cut a little corner and used that to pipe it into the bars with--so much easier!!

I tried to make Cranberry Bliss Bars last year at Christmas, but they came out rather thick with very heavy icing and too much white chocolate drizzle. This recipe makes them lighter and fluffier, a much better consistency. The only change I made was to add a bit of orange extract to the batter and the icing, so the flavor seems closer to the Starbucks version than without. I do have a question: my white chocolate doesn't get thin enough to drizzle, so I get clumps of chocolate on top of the icing/cranberries. I heated it in the microwave over a minute, using 15-second bursts. I worry that I will burn it if I go much further. Any suggestions?

ive made these twice and each time they are amzing. i love making them and my husband loves eating them. question though, is there an easier way to even the batter towards the corners? the batter tends to be really gooey and hard to distrube throughout the pan. wondering if anyone had any luck. otherwise, its really had just to eat one!

These are AMAZING! I made them once and ate them every morning for 2 weeks. However, I had 2 problems with them. First, it took almost 30 minutes for them to cook int he middle. Maybe it was because I;m at high altitude? They were good in the middle but a little hard to eat at the edges. Also, my white chocolate didn't melt so I made the mistake of adding water. Other than that, these were absolutely fabulous and I will make them again.

These were pretty darn good, thanks as always Gina! Just as comments/responses:1. My cookie bar/pan was done at 14 min. though possibly could have gone a minute or two longer. It was just *barely* browning on the edges.2. I had problems getting the cookie out of the baking pan. I ended up having to cut into into 3 big hunks to remove and one of them sort of shattered on me, though it was salvageable. Any hints or tricks as to when/how to get these out of the pan cleanly?3. For the drizzle at the end, I tried to melt Nestle white chocolate chips in the microwave. They went from hard, to sorta soft, to a solid mass, even taking them out to stir every 15-20 sec. I ended up using milk chocolate chips (melted the same way in the microwave without a problem). It was delicious and a nice contrasting color to the white frosting and red cranberries.

These came out beautifully and absolutely delicious!!! I made this for my family for Christmas and everyone raved. They couldn't believe they weren't the fatty, caloric Starbucks version! My only issue was with the white chocolate not melting enough so my "drizzle" was fat strips of white chocolate... Not as pretty as yours but just as yummy, I am sure! Thanks for the great recipe. This one is a keeper!

These were fantastic, and a big hit with family last night. I substituted dried cherries, and they were delicious. However, a couple notes.....A whisk does not cut it for this recipe! The batter is incredibly stiff and thick. Electric beater is the tool for the job. Also, I had to add twice as much applesauce to get a smooth batter....with just 1/4 cup, it was dust-dry. Even then, it was very stiff and difficult to spread. And finally, my white ceramic pan required about 25 minutes to bake. They came out super-moist, but after 10 minutes they were still runny. The pan, the oven and the climate make a big difference, so you really have to watch the time carefully.

Oh Gina I love you for doing this! I am not a big sweet eat eater but every year I wait for Starbucks to put these out. I eat one then buy a pan for the office. Everyone loves them. Now I can eat two or even three :)!!

My dad just linked this to me, thanks dad, wondering if adding candied ginger to the cookie dough makes a huge calorie difference. The version I have has candied ginger in the mix, should I just use powdered ginger?

Just wanted to pass along a tip - made these for Christmas and were a huge hit. We left town before we could eat them all so I put the leftovers in the freezer and they came out perfect. So, IF by chance someone has leftovers (unlikely, I know), they freeze well and are just as delicious in the middle of January.

Thank you so much for this recipe! I am a big fan of the Starbucks version and am thrilled to have a healthier (and cheaper) substitute! I made these for Valentine's Day and brought some to my coworkers. Everyone raved about them.

Made these to take to a friend's cabin this weekend, and they were delicious. I think the kids were wary of the fruit on top - it looked too healthy and not very chocolate-y, but if you could convince them to try it, they liked it.

Gina ... you life saver .... well, at least you are a wallet and figure saver. I'm addicted to cranberry bliss bars and I'm afraid of what it is doing to my wallet and my waist line. I'm so excited to make these. You are a hero to most of us who follow you blog (and now cookbook) faithfully.

I just took these out of the oven. I'm not sure what I did wrong, I followed the directions perfectly. The bar is really poofy. It seems like it doesn't fit in the pan. I haven't made the frosting yet...but I'm not sure how I'm going to cut these.

Yeah, please change that type. Like numerous people have said it's Gold Medal

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this recipe. Not having to run to Starbucks for my cranberry bliss bar fix is going to save my waistline and my wallet this holiday season.

I just made these last night. I cut a little of the sugar in the frosting bc I think Starbuck's version is a little too sweet. I also added 1/4 teaspoon orange extract based on other comments. Last, I chopped the white chocolate and sprinkled it on instead of doing a drizzle...call me lazy. :)

These are amazing! Thank you for the recipe! I only use 1/3 white chocolate chips and 2/3 coconut sugar (I leave out the white sugar) and you cannot tell at all. I also use Pamela's gluten free flour and no one knows the difference!

I have now made these about 5 times. The last few were by request. I live in England right now and the Starbucks over here does not have the bliss bars, which is one of my favorite parts about Christmas. These fill the need without most of the guilt. Thank you!